Big rib-eyes present meat-cutting challenge

Tuesday

Dec 11, 2012 at 12:00 PM

While health conscious consumers are eating less beef and consuming it in smaller portions, the drive for production efficiency has pushed the size of the average beef carcass, and the beef cuts that result, to new extremes.

Candace Krebs

DENVER — While health conscious consumers are eating less beef and consuming it in smaller portions, the drive for production efficiency has pushed the size of the average beef carcass, and the beef cuts that result, to new extremes.

“Most consumers don’t want a 16- to 18-ounce steak on their plate,” said Dale Woerner, a meat scientist with Colorado State University. “They also don’t want to pay for that much steak.”

The average rib-eye now spans nearly 14 inches; the average beef carcass weighs in at nearly 820 pounds. “Ten years ago, it was hard to find a carcass that heavy,” Woerner said.

What does the discrepancy mean for producers?

Realistically, probably not much, Woerner said.

The industry has talked about imposing steeper discounts for at least 15 years, with little follow-through. After all, packinghouse and feedyard efficiency improves with larger animals.

“We are running out of cattle,” he added. “Every economic and production indicator we have is making cattle heavier. We have to make more with less.”While there are discounts associated with cattle becoming too heavy, those boundaries are set at a very high level, Woerner continueds. “The more likely scenario is that the industry will find ways to manage and deal with those larger cuts,” he said.

Oversized muscle cuts need to be fabricated in ways that create a leaner beef product with a more desirable nutritional profile, he said.

The industry is becoming more sophisticated at sorting various sized meat cuts to fit the right marketing channels, said Trevor Amen, director of market intelligence for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Another goal of NCBA’s business-to-business marketing department is to add more value to the outliers, he added.

Instead of leaving the loin intact and cutting it into steaks, fabricators have the option of removing the fat seams and reapportioning the muscle into medallions, roulades and roasts. For diners and home cooks used to the iconic image of a two-inch thick steak, the new offerings will take some getting used to.

“We’re starting to see some traction, but this process will take many, many years,” Amen said.

Jason Morse, an executive chef and culinary instructor in Denver, agrees, saying beginning students often try to impress him with huge steaks covered in fancy sauces. “We have a huge educational challenge in front of us,” he said.